The pinball casts the player as a newly-arriving Ensign on the USS Enterprise. True to the series, the player and the crew travel the galaxy and have various encounters, such as a time rift, a visit from Q, encounters with the Ferengi, Romulans, and Cardassians, and an attack by the Borg. Other experiences include holodeck simulations, trips to the Neutral Zone, and chances to collect rare artifacts. Truly skilled players will be able to advance in rank, and ultimately reach the Final Frontier. For added appeal, the playfield features two rotating phaser cannons that shoot pinballs at various targets.

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The game is considered one of Steve Ritchie's hardest tables, with demanding shots and dangerous outlanes to punish careless players. It includes original voice clips from the TNG cast, including Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Michael Dorn. As thanks for their participation, each of the stars received a pinball machine at the end of the project. Patrick Stewart says he still plays his, while Marina Sirtis placed hers in the basement where her kids can enjoy it.

A digital version was available for FarSight Studios' The Pinball Arcade until the license for the Williams and Bally tables expired on July 1, 2018.

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"Welcome to the Enterprise.":

Annoying Video-Game Helper: Invoked; if you flub a shot and drain the ball, Data will sometimes begin to comment. Interrupting him (by hitting the flipper buttons) yields a small bonus.

Data: "Had you projected the ball on the proper trajectory, you would have been rewa—" *hit flipper buttons*

Author Appeal: Steve Ritchie is an unabashed fan of the Next Generation television series.

BFG: One mounted above each slingshot. When loaded with the ball, they swivel back and forth and fire when the trigger is pressed, used in some modes.

Bragging Rights Reward: In addition to the regular high score table, there is the "Q Continuum" for players who score over 10 billion points.

Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: There is also an "Officers' Club" table for players who "buy in" additional balls during a game; the concept is that people who can afford to go to an Officers' Club can afford to buy-in multiple times.

Cap: Subverted. The number of Holodecks collected will roll over to 0 if another one is collected with 255. Similarly, the bonus for completing the Bonus X lanes when already at 10X will roll over from 250M to 4M. Both of these are most likely a result of the values being stored as an 8-bit integer and not being checked against a maximum.

If your ball drains before you can even begin to play a mission, he'll often say, "Had you projected the ball on the proper trajectory, you would have been rewarded."

When you fail a probe launch, he'll state, "The probe has discovered nothing, sir." He's also sometimes cut off by an annoyed Captain Picard saying, "Thank you, Mr. Data."

Creator Cameo: Admiral Biagi (who informs the player about the Borg menace) is voiced by and modeled after Carl Biagi, who developed the mechanics for Steve Ritchie's pinball games (including this game).

Dummied Out: One of Troi's lines, "I believe they have evil intentions," is not used in the game at the request of Marina Sirtis. It is accessible in the sound test, however.

Early Installment Weirdness: The earliest ROM revisions had the artifacts awarded be random instead of in-sequence. Additionally, the value of each shot in Final Frontier was a flat value instead of being dependent on the number of artifacts.

Secret Mission: When the holodeck is lit on the right ramp and the display says "Holodeck 3 Ready", pull the phaser trigger three times. This starts a 20 second frenzy where every target is worth a weird number of points.

When the ball goes in the Advance Rank/Command Decision hole when nothing is lit, pull the trigger to see a limousine drive past some buildings.

Steve Ritchie's pinography: Pressing the flipper buttons in a specific order during the game will display the logos of all of Steve Ritchie's past games. Yes, even those from Atari.

Magikarp Power: The spinner awards a paltry 1,000 points per spin at the beginning. By raising your Warp Factor high enough and hitting certain targets enough times, it can give up to 25,500,000 points a spin normally * The spinner's value increases by 1,000 every time the Time Rift targets are hit up to a maximum of 30,000. The value can be increased beyond 30,000 by getting the Double Spinner award at Warp Factor 7, but it caps at 255,000. Warp Factor 4 lights the spinner making it worth 100x base value.. That's not even counting Super Spinner.

Match Sequence: Surprisingly generic - the number is selected over a space background.

Phlebotinum Breakdown: Triggering the Warp 9 mode will deactivate the left ramp for warp increases for the rest of the game. The Warp Factor choice at the start of the ball will also be lowered from 4 to 2.

Pinball Scoring: Prevalent, with high scores being in the billions. There is also the Q Continuum high score table that keeps track of high scores of 10 billion or more. While a short to medium-length game gives scores in line with the era, a long game can result in truly ridiculous scores:

As mentioned above, the spinner can become worth over 25 million points a spin.

Even just starting Final Frontier can award billions of points, with the artifacts accumulating over the entire game. Not to mention the 6-ball free-for-all multiball itself after where each shot can be worth up to 250 million.

Multiball jackpots can be worth hundreds of millions, if not billions of points.

Random Number God: This table is known for awarding extra balls at highly variable point tresholds after the first guaranteed scoring one. As well as not awarding them for certain shots. To ellaborate: the table may allow for a sixth shot in Battle Simulation which awards an extra ball, or may just end the mission upon landing the fifth shot. Also, the Extra Ball in the Shuttle Simulation is often replaced by a 10M pickup.

Rank Up: You start the game with the Ensign rank. Advancing the bonus multiplier lights the "Advance Rank" shot, and shooting it advances your rank to the following (in increasing order): Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, and Captain. Going for the buy-in also advances your rank.

The player can participate in a shuttle simulation in the Holodeck, flying through a series of caverns without colliding. Players could choose to skip the Video Mode, but completing it yields an artifact.

An Easter Eggspoiler Hold down the phaser trigger before starting the Holodeck simulation. replaces the simulation with a game of Five-Card Draw Poker against William Riker.

Riker: "You feeling lucky?"

The operator's manual refers to a "secret video mode", which is a version of Breakout. Accessing it requires a complex series of flipper presses at the beginning of the game among a few other steps. * Before launching the first ball, press both flippers together once, the left flipper twice, the right flipper once, left four more times, right once again, left eight more times, and finally right twice. After lighting the Holodeck and getting the normal options of 25 million points or Shuttle Simulation hit the launch trigger, then finally the right flipper.

Wizard Mode: After completing all seven missions, the "Final Frontier" becomes available. Upon starting it, the game first tallies the number of artifacts the player has collected. Then the Final Frontier begins; it is a six-ball multiball mode, where each target's value is determined by the number of artifacts.

Picard: Captain's log supplemental: The crew performed admirably in dispatching the Borg threat.

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